We may not get as bone-chillingly cold weather as other parts of the country do, but still, our winters pack quite the punch. And to get through these winters, we need powerful, reliable HVAC systems. If you’ve discovered that your heat pump is blowing out cold air, it’s obvious you have a problem, but what does it mean?
Cold Air from Your Heat Pump
The last thing you need your heat pump doing this winter is blowing out cold air. When this occurs, you should first check to ensure that it didn’t get switched back to cooling mode. If the thermostat is in the correct setting, however, the problem could be from a few different things.
A low refrigerant charge (low level of refrigerant) is a very likely culprit of this problem. There is a common misconception among homeowners that refrigerant is something that needs to be refilled on a regular basis. But actually, your heat pump is supplied with enough refrigerant upon installation that it should last the systems’ entire lifespan. If your system is losing refrigerant, then you have a leak that must be located and professionally repaired.
Cold air can mean other things too. Perhaps you have a ductwork breach and the vents for a particular room are letting outside air in. There are many possible reasons, but one thing is for sure—when you have a problem with your heat pump, we’re the team to call! We can handle this problem as well as a number of other heat pump issues, such as:
- A Failure to Defrost: You should never see ice on the coils of your heat pump, but it is normal to see a light layer of frost in cold weather. When your heat pump is functioning as it should, it will switch to defrost mode automatically in order to melt the ice forming on the outside unit periodically. If frost or ice is common on your evaporator coil and you don’t think it’s actually defrosting, it’s time to reach out to our team.
- A Failure to Cycle On: This is an urgent problem—but it might not mean you need a repair. First, you should check for a tripped circuit breaker. If you reset a tripped breaker and the system works again without another trip, then it’s likely it was a fluke instance. If this continues to happen though, it’s worth a call to our pros.
When something is amiss with your heat pump system, the best thing you can do for your comfort, safety, and system efficiency is give us a call. Sometimes, the symptoms we mentioned above can be indicative of an aging system getting ready to officially call it quits. Other times, it can be something that just requires a quick fix. We’ll be able to let you know if you need repairs, or if it would benefit you to upgrade your system. Either way, you can count on trustworthy service form our crew!
For reliable heat pump repair, look no further than Sunset Air. Contact us today.
